Ash and Pikachu's New Adventure
by Forest Dragon Slayer
Summary: Ash and Pikachu are on yet another new adventure in the region of Orros with friends new and old. Romance will be added in later chapters.
1. A new Begining

**Hello there, I am Forest Dragon Slayer and this is my first Pokémon fanfic. Originally, I've been writing Fairy Tail fanfics hence my pen name but I got an idea for a fanfic for this series so I'm writing it. It's basically Ash/Satoshi going into yet another new region with his partner Pikachu meeting new people and perhaps reunite with old friends. Note: Ash/Satoshi is 16 in this fanfic because I mean, he should be about that old considering each episode of the anime counts as one day of his life most of the time. By the way, should I refer to the main character as Ash or Satoshi? For now, I'm going to use Ash since I'm more familiar with it.**

**On another note, this chapter will only show Ash/Satoshi starting his journey and meeting an OC I created who will join him on his travels. However, I've been debating with myself whether to bring back one of the previous female leads from earlier seasons (Misty, May, Dawn, Iris, or Serena) or to make another OC for that role. I'll make a poll on that on my author page or you can tell me through review or PM and I'll consider your opinions. I'm planning on pairing Ash/Satoshi to whoever will be selected because due to personal experience, I have noted that fanfics without any romance don't tend to be popular. I'm starting to wonder whether people only come on this site to read fanfics on their favorite pairings. No offense intended. **

**Well, hopefully you'll like this fanfic. Please read, enjoy and review!**

**I don't own Pokémon, **

Ash Ketchum, a 16 year old Pokémon trainer had just finished his journey through the Kalos region disappointed due to his loss against the champion, thus preventing him yet again from being a Pokémon Master. At this point, he's currently on the plane home while reminiscing on his latest journey.

"It was fun while it lasted." Ash said somewhat sad having to say goodbye to his friends Citron, Eureka, and Serena.

"Pika, Pikachu." The small electric mouse agreed with him.

"Well, it's not like we'll never see them again." Ash reassured his partner with a smile. "I'm sure we'll see them again before we know it." Pikachu nodded and smiled at its trainer. Soon, an announcement came over the intercom of the plane.

"Attention passengers, we will be arriving in the Kanto region shortly, please put on your seatbelt if you don't already have it on and prepare for landing." The voice over the intercom said. After another 15 minutes, the seaplane began landing in the water and continued towards the docks. Upon reaching it, another announcement told the passengers that they have arrived at their destination and to exit the plane in an orderly fashion. Just minutes after getting off the plane, Ash spotted Professor Oak in the crowd.

"Welcome back Ash!" Professor Oak greeted with a smile as Ash walked over.

"Thanks Professor, it's good to be back." Ash said returning the greeting.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu greeted cheerfully in its own way.

"You seem to be doing well also Pikachu." Professor Oak said as he petted the electric mouse's head. "Come on, I'll drive you home. Your mother is worried sick. I told her you'd be fine but she wouldn't listen." Ash just smiled and wanted to get home to see his mom for the first time in a while.

_Later…_

"So, how was the Kalos region?" Ash's mother asked as she brought out some lunch to the table.

"I am quite curious as to the new Pokémon you saw there." Professor Oak added.

"I saw a ton of Pokémon I've never seen before as well as a lot of skilled trainers." Ash replied. "It was a lot of fun! It's a shame I couldn't beat the champion and become a Pokémon Master."

"Well, you can't expect everything to go your way can you?" Professor Oak said. "And besides, what's really important is the experiences you took from this journey and everything you learned from them."

"Okay Professor, save your words of wisdom for later, Ash needs to rest after such a long trip." Ash's mother said as she put more food on Ash's plate and Pokémon food in Pikachu's food bowl. Later that night, Ash went into his room that remained for the most part unchanged from how it looked when he was 10, the time he began his journey due to him traveling a lot. He put the badge case filled with all 8 of Kalos's gym badges in it on his dresser along with the other items that showed his past accomplishments. He began thinking about what Professor Oak said earlier at lunch.

"Man, we've come a long way haven't we Pikachu?" Ash silently asked his yellow companion who was already asleep. "I mean, we've gone through so many battles, made so many friends and I feel proud of all we've done. Yet, I wonder why we always fall short of that final goal we want to be at?" Ash pondered this a little before eventually falling asleep. The next morning, he awoke to the smell of breakfast being cooked. To his surprise, Pikachu was absent from the bed. Upon going downstairs and into the dining room, he saw Pikachu on the table happily eating some berries while his mother was setting the table. "Good morning" Ash said as he yawned.

"Pika Pi." Pikachu responded after hearing its trainer's greeting.

"Good morning Ash, I was just about to wake you up." His mom said with a smile. "Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold. Afterwards, Professor Oak wants to see you." Ash wondered what the reason was as he ate his breakfast before running out the door with Pikachu on his tail. Few minutes later, the two of them arrived at the lab of Professor Oak. Right before they was about to get through the door, somebody was going out and they bumped into each other.

"Hey, watch it Ketchum!" The person said. The said person was none other than Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson and Ash's Kanto rival.

"Gary? What are you doing here?" Ash asked somewhat confused thinking his rival would be training to get stronger somewhere.

"A guy's gotta come back home at some point right?" Gary replied as he began to walk down the steps. "Gramps wants to talk with you by the way. See you later." Ash then remembered why he came here and he entered the lab.

"Professor, I'm here." Ash said as he and Pikachu entered the lab. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Ah, you're here." Professor Oak said coming out of another room. "I wanted to tell you about an area for a potential journey but you don't seem like you're ready for it."

"Why not?" Ash asked both confused and disappointed.

"You're still in your pajamas. You look like you're ready for bed." Professor Oak replied pointing to Ash's attire. Pikachu was fighting the urge to laugh.

"Oh crap, I was in so much of a hurry, I forgot to change!" Ash exclaimed just realizing it.

"HaHaHa, this reminds me of your first day as a trainer." Professor Oak said with a chuckle. "You were so excited you came to my lab in pajamas." 

"I'll change later." Ash replied sheepishly. "But like last time, I'm ready!" He said this with determination in his voice.

"I know, I know, I was just joking with you." Professor Oak said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a ticket and held it out to Ash. "This will let you take the plane going to a region called Orros. I know you're still wanting to give it another go right? Let's see if all of those experiences help you win the lottery this time." Ash immediately got fired up.

"Thanks Professor! I promise I'll do my best to win!" Ash said as he took the ticket gratefully.

"Just a fair warning, it may be another region, but the gym leaders there are strong. It's been said that their skill rivals the Elite 4 in other regions." Professor Oak added. "It might be hard to win with just Pokémon you catch there."

"I'll see for myself when I get there." Ash said getting more excited by the minute. "You hear that Pikachu? We're going on another journey!"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed happily. _Some things don't change huh? _Professor Oak thought seeing the two getting excited.

"By the way, the flight for your ticket is tomorrow so you better get ready." Professor Oak said. "And make sure you don't go there in your pajamas." He added jokingly making Ash chuckle nervously as he and Pikachu left to go get ready for their next big adventure.

_At home during lunch…_

"What, you're leaving again so soon?" Ash's mom said in surprise. "You've only been back for two days."

"Sorry Mom, but me and Pikachu want to get stronger and we can't just lie around for too long." Ash said with determination. His mother just smiled.

"I just knew you'd be ready to go on another journey soon although I didn't imagine it to be this soon." Ash's mom said as she got up from her chair and brought back a small bundle. I've already prepared a new outfit for you, you're beginning to outgrow the ones from your last journey."

"Thanks Mom." Ash said as he took the new clothes and hat. "And again, sorry for always running off again soon after coming home all the time."

"It's fine, you're trying your best to chase your dream right?" Ash's mother said with a supportive smile. "Just make sure to call at least once in a while okay?"

"You got it!" Ash said as he went back to his room to continue packing. His mother just smiled at how his excitement level was the same as how it was when he was 10. This was currently true to at least the part where he couldn't sleep for a while thinking about the adventures he's going to have there.

"Pika Pika?" Pikachu said trying to shake Ash awake. It was now morning and 2 hours before his flight would take off. Pikachu gave up shaking its trainer and decided to use another method. "Pika Pikachuuu!" It zapped Ash with a ton of electricity which definitely woke him up.

"Ash, get up or you'll miss your flight!" Ash's mother said to get him to hurry. Ash soon realized his situation and scrambled to get ready fortunately remembering to change out of his pajamas and into his new clothes which consisted of red cap with a white Pokéball marking on its front as well as a black shirt with a long sleeve blue sweatshirt over it, jeans, and black fingerless gloves. After grabbing his prepacked backpack and quickly scarfing down some food, Professor Oak drove him and Pikachu to the port where Ash's plane would be. Once they were finally on the plane, they sighed having barely made it before it would take off. As the plane was in the air, Ash began to sleep once again since he didn't really sleep properly last night and Pikachu couldn't help but sleep on its trainer's lap. At least they had a good amount of time to rest for this would be a long flight.

"Attention passengers, we have arrived at Pantoras City of the Orros region. Please prepare to disembark from the plane." The voice over the intercom said several hours later waking Ash and Pikachu from their sleep.

"We must have arrived Pikachu." Ash said as he yawned. "Ready for the start of our next adventure?"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu responded excitedly. The two of them then practically ran off the plane hurrying to see the Orros region for the first time.

"Hello Orros Region!" Ash shouted immediately after reaching outside gaining the attention and surprising some of those passing by. Unknown to the two of them due to their excitement, there were two people and a Pokémon who have been following them for a while and had even followed their flight in a hot air balloon. If the reader hasn't guessed who it is yet, this trio is the same group that's been after Pikachu for the past 6 years with little success. That's right, Team Rocket has followed after the pair. **(Sort of makes you wonder whether they're stalkers and if they have nothing better to do.)**

"Now that the twerp doesn't have any other Pokémon, it'll be easier to capture Pikachu." Jesse said with a smirk.

"Now that I think about it, why doesn't he bring any other Pokémon if he knows that we're going after Pikachu all the time?" James questioned.

"Never mind that, they're getting away!" Meowth said pointing to Ash and Pikachu who were indeed running off probably to find excitement. The trio then put on disguises before running after them.

"Wow, look at all the new Pokémon here!" Ash said as he walked around town seeing Pokémon he's never seen before **(Maybe I'll make some up later or something) **as well as some he's seen in other regions. After a good amount of time walking around they soon ended up in an outdoor battle arena of sorts abandoned for the night as it was pretty late by the time Ash arrived. "Hey Pikachu, let's come back here tomorrow. We might be able to have our first battle in Orros here!" The yellow Pokémon was about to respond before it was all of a sudden trapped in a clear container attached to a hot air balloon by a tube.

"Mwahahaha!" Three voices laughed triumphantly from above.

"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed. Team Rocket ignored the teenager and continued with their regular yet annoying opening lines.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jesse"

"James"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight"

"Meowth that's right!"

After they had finished, Ash just sweat dropped. _Why do they still do that even after 6 years? _Ash thought to himself before refocusing his attention to the problem at hand. Pikachu began trying to break free from its prison using electricity. Unfortunately, it had no effect as usual due to Team Rocket long used to making counter measures for Pikachu's strong electric attacks. Well, most of them considering they've still been blasted by that same electricity time and time again.

"Give me back Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed angrily.

"No way twerp." Jesse replied defiantly. "Ta Ta!" The criminal trio then began flying off with Pikachu still trapped in the container. Ash attempted to catch up but failed to do so due to the fact that humans can't fly without an aerodynamic machine. **(Well, at least I think they can't)**

"Charmeleon, use Dragon Tail!" a voice cried out as a dark orange Pokémon came out of nowhere and smashed the container Pikachu was in, freeing it.

"What's a Charmeleon doing here?" Ash wondered as he caught Pikachu. It was then a boy about his age with short black hair walked over to him. He had on a grey shirt with a black sweatshirt as well as blue jeans and white sneakers. **(Basically just imagine Kirito from Sword Art Online or Saito from Zero no Tsukaima in those clothes. I imagined this character to look like either one of them)**

"Is your Pikachu okay?" The boy asked, the Charmeleon following close behind.

"Yeah, thanks to you." Ash said thankfully.

"No problem." The boy replied with a grin. "I couldn't just stand by and watch these dumb looking idiots to take your Pokémon. Speaking of which, I feel like blasting them out of here. Charmeleon, Fire Blast!"

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash said wanting to get Team Rocket out of his hair as well. The two Pokémon nodded and fired their respective attacks which combined together before hitting the hot air balloon sending Team Rocket flying.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the trio said before they became a twinkle in the sky.

"Well, looks like that's over." The boy said. "The name's Yuji by the way, what's yours?" Yuji said as he held out his hand.

"I'm Ash Ketchum and this is my partner Pikachu. We're from Pallet Town." Ash said as he took the hand and shook it. Pikachu cheerfully greeted Yuji as well.

"Pallet Town huh? That's a long ways from here. Ah well, it's nice to meet the two of you." Yuji said with a grin. "By the way, why didn't you have any other Pokémon to help when our Pikachu got taken away?" Ash just gave a sheepish grin.

"I just got to this region and you see, I always leave my Pokémon at Professor Oak's and I start anew with just Pikachu." Ash said with a nervous smile. "I guess that can be sort of stupid sometimes though."

"Actually, I think it's kind of cool having that strong enough bond with your Pokémon to want it to stay by your side for so long." Yuji said with a smile. "By the way, do you want to battle? From that thunderbolt, I can tell that your Pikachu is strong. I think it'll be interesting."

"You're on!" Ash said excitedly. "I've been waiting for my first battle here!" Pikachu also was becoming excited.

"Well, luckily we have a battle field right here and we can get started." Yuji said as he and his Charmeleon walked onto one side of the field while Ash and Pikachu walked to the other. After a few tense moments of mental preparation Yuji spoke again. "Let the battle begin! Charmeleon, use flamethrower!" Charmeleon complied and blasted an intense fire in Pikachu's direction.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge it then use Iron Tail when you get close enough!" Ash commanded as Pikachu dodged the fire attack with ease while its tail began to glow when it got close to Charmeleon.

"Crap, Charmeleon, use Slash!" Yuji exclaimed after seeing Pikachu get close. The two Pokémon's attacks collided in a clash before they both jumped back. "Man, your Pikachu is fast!" Yuji said getting excited at the gradually increasing intensity of the battle.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" Ash replied. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed an enormous amount of electricity after charging up.

"Charmeleon, use Fire Blast to counter it!" Yuji exclaimed as Charmeleon and Pikachu's attacks collided and caused a big explosion as well as making it difficult to see from the dust. "Now's our chance! Charmeleon, use Eruption!" Charmeleon pointed its head towards the sky and fired a humungous ball of flames into it. After reaching a certain height, the giant fire ball burst into several smaller ones which fell towards Pikachu rapidly.

_KABOOM_

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed with worry as he could not see his yellow friend.

"Pika, Pikachuuu!" Pikachu's voice came out from the dust as it let loose a powerful Electro Ball which caught Charmeleon unaware and was hit by it. After the dust cleared, it was certain that both Pokémon had taken direct hits from their opponent's powerful attacks.

"Your Pikachu is as strong as I expected." Yuji commented seeing the situation.

"Charmeleon is pretty tough too." Ash replied grinning as the battle was getting exciting.

"I got an idea, let's go all out in a final attack." Yuji suggested also grinning. "The momentum sort of built up to this right?"

"You're on!" Ash said determinedly as Pikachu also had a look of confidence. "Pikachu, use Volt Tackle!"

"Charmeleon, use Fire Blitz at full power!" Yuji exclaimed. Pikachu began to be covered by electricity and Charmeleon was surrounded by flames as they charged at each other with full force causing a massive collision which resulted in another explosion.

_KABOOM_

Neither trainer could see the result of the battle as another thick cloud of dust appeared due to the collision. When the dust cleared again, they saw both of their Pokémon still standing.

"Char…" Charmeleon said weakly before collapsing. The match was over, Ash and Pikachu had won."

"We won, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed excitedly as Pikachu went back to Ash and jumped in victory.

"Looks like we lost this time. You did great though Charmeleon, have a good rest." Yuji said as he returned Charmeleon to its Pokéball. "Well, that was definitely fun." He said with a smile. "You two really are strong."

"Don't sell yourself short, you and Charmeleon were strong as well." Ash said in respect.

"That settles it, I'll be tagging along with you on your travels." Yuji said to Ash and Pikachu's surprise.

"Why's that?" Ash asked. He had no problems with it but it was just sudden.

"Because I think it'll be interesting." Yuji replied with a carefree grin. "Also, it's no fun if you travel alone right? It'll be a pleasure traveling with you." 

"Same here!" Ash said excited that he already made a new friend in the Orros region.

_Elsewhere in a secret laboratory…_

"Are the preparations ready for your mission?" A man said to a person behind him who just nodded. "Then get going and track down target B063. No failure will be allowed." The same person just nodded again and disappeared behind the automatic door of the lab….

**So, what did you think about that first chapter? Hopefully, you enjoyed it and I hope you'll enjoy the chapters I write in the future. Again, please review and remember to vote on that poll. I shall be awaiting your answers and hopefully I can crank out the next chapter not too long from now. Well, this is Forest Dragon Slayer bidding you farewell for now.**


	2. Reuniting

**Hello to those in the Pokémon Fanfiction world! Forest Dragon Slayer here with the next chapter of this fanfic! How did you like the last chapter? Was it a good start? Thank you to those who favorite/followed this chapter and I hope that number will continue to grow. Also, thank you to the people who voted on my poll to determine the pairing for this fanfic. Even though the number of people was small, I shall use the girl that was voted for the most. Now it's time for the results, drumroll please! **

***cricket chirps***

**Seriously, nothing? Ah well, I'll just bring Eugene from my Fairy Tail fanfics over here. *Drags Eugene in here***

**Eugene: What the heck am I doing here? And what is this strange thing?**

**Me: It's called a drum, now play it. You play it by hitting the round things.**

**Eugene: I'll try then. *Plays in a weird fashion while somehow making the drums catch on fire and explode.***

**Me: Wow, and I thought it was Natsu's job to destroy stuff. Oh well, thanks for coming Eugene. *throws Eugene back into the Fairy Tail universe***

**Sorry folks, I just couldn't resist doing that. Anyway, the girl that shall be paired with Ash shall be Serena! I'll be putting her in this chapter as well as another familiar face that I wanted to add in.**

**Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy!**

**I don't own Pokémon obviously. Why do we even need these disclaimers if everyone knows we don't own the series we're writing Fanfiction for? That's the reason why it's called ****Fan****fiction!**

"Hey Ash, have you gone to Professor Kalep yet?" Yuji asked as the two trainers left the Pokémon center they stayed at last night. "Since you're probably going to need this region's Pokédex, I thought that might be the best place to stop by next."

"Let's get going then!" Ash said excitedly. "Where's his lab?"

"It's the next town over, Reruta Town. It's about a half an hour walk from here." Yuji replied.

"Okay then, on to Reruta Town!" Ash exclaimed before his stomach growled making Yuji and Pikachu sweat drop. "After we eat breakfast!" Ash added somewhat embarrassed. Yuji just laughed before the three of them set off to find a place to eat. Soon after, they were sitting in a nearby diner digging into some pancakes, hash browns, bacon and scrambled eggs. **(Makes you wonder where they get the meat products. I remember Ash wanting to eat cheeseburgers in one episode and Misty actually eating meat in one of the movies.)**

"This tastes awesome!" Yuji exclaimed as he continued to chow down on his food. Ash and Pikachu were doing the same. It was then Ash realized something about the food.

"Hey Pikachu, doesn't this food have a familiar feel to it?" Ash asked his yellow Pokémon friend who nodded as the two of them began to ponder about it. Yuji stopped eating for a bit as he noticed his companions thinking.

"What do you mean by that?" Yuji asked curiously.

"It's nothing, it's just that it feels similar to the stuff a friend of mine cooked while we were traveling together. His name's Brock." Ash explained. "Right now he's working hard to be a Pokémon doctor."

"You mean Brock, the former gym leader of Pewter City?" Yuji said recognizing the name. "Man, you keep surprising me. You're even on friendly terms with gym leaders." The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice somebody walk up to them.

"Well, if it isn't Ash?" The person said gaining the two's attention which then resulted in their shock. There in front of them was the same person they were just talking about, Brock who was holding plates of food trying to serve them to other customers.

"Brock!? What the heck are you doing here!?" Ash exclaimed in surprise. "Weren't you studying to become a Pokémon Doctor?"

"Well, you're looking at Dr. Brock now." Brock replied with triumphant smirk on his face. "I'm finished with my formal training so I decided to go on a trip to test my abilities on the road."

"That doesn't explain why you're working here in a restaurant." Yuji commented.

"Let me guess, it's because of a girl isn't it?" Ash said as he and Pikachu sweat dropped knowing about Brock's inability to resist a cute girl.

"This time, I know she's got the hots for me!" Brock said with excitement.

"That's what you always say." Ash deadpanned.

"By the way, who's he?" Brock asked referring to Yuji.

"The name's Yuji, I've been Ash's traveling companion since yesterday." Yuji replied with a smile as he stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you Brock." Brock returned the gesture and the two shook hands.

"So Ash, you're going to be traveling through the Orros region this time around right?" Brock asked turning back to him. "I'd love to come with you but alas, I must stay with my love!"

"Brock, thanks for all the help today." A girl said coming out of the kitchen. Brock immediately went googly eyes.

"No problem, Katie!" Brock said love struck. "It was my pleasure!"

"Ah, I have to go, my boyfriend's waiting." Katie said as she took off her apron and started out the door. "Thanks for the help again!" After she left, Brock fell on his knees dejected almost causing the tray of food he was holding to fall if not for Ash and Yuji barely catching them.

"Don't say I didn't tell you so." Ash said already used to Brock being rejected several times. "Don't worry about him too much, this is normal." He said to Yuji who was sort of shocked at the reaction.

"You've got to be at least sort of sorry for him." Yuji said growing more worried as he looked at Brock's face of anguish.

"If I know him, he'll be back on his feet in no time." Ash assured him. Yuji still seemed skeptical about it.

"Well, it looks like I'll be traveling with you two." Brock said regaining his composure to Yuji's surprise. _Wow, Ash wasn't kidding about that. _Yuji thought in shock as Brock had already gotten his pack. After somehow getting Brock away from the customers still wanting his cooking, the now trio **(Or group of four if you count Pikachu)** were on their way to Reruta town. Unbeknownst to them, somebody was following them.

"The target is headed your way." The person said into a walkie-talkie. "Approximate time of their arrival to Reruta town is 15 minutes." 

"Roger that." A voice replied from the walkie-talkie. "It's almost time to capture target number two and set this plan into motion." The person in the shadows nodded before continuing to tail the trio in silence. Back with the group, they soon arrived at the town of Reruta which had a style that was like a bustling city with a nature feel as well.

"Guys, welcome to my hometown." Yuji said as they entered the town.

"So where's Professor Kalep's lab?" Ash asked looking for the lab as they walked around the town. Brock was currently looking at a map he got back in the last town.

"It's on that small hill next to the docks." Yuji replied pointing towards the said location. "We'll get there faster if we go through the docks instead of taking the path from the main part of town.."

_At the docks…_

"Where am I now!?" Serena exclaimed as she got off the boat. "I was supposed to arrive in Vermillion City, not wherever this is! I must have gotten on the wrong boat." Serena was planning on surprising Ash with a visit at Pallet town but she had gotten on the wrong boat and ended up in Reruta town. She then sighed and remembered what she wanted to do with Ash when she met up with him. Going on a picnic with him, taking walks on the beach, and more romantic stuff. The teenage girl's face turned red at these thoughts and she shook her head. _First things first, I have to confess to him or those things won't happen!_ She exclaimed mentally.

"Serena, is that you?" Ash said in surprise as his group were walking through the harbor. Serena was just as shocked seeing her crush/childhood friend in the most unlikely of circumstances.

"Ash, it's so good to see you again!" Serena exclaimed as she ran over to the group before giving Ash a hug making Ash blush a little and Brock jealous.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu said from Ash's shoulder happy to see a friend as was Ash.

"It's nice to see you too Serena." Ash said with a smile as they broke away from the hug. "What are you doing here by the way?"

"I was actually planning on visiting you in Kanto." Serena replied. "But I accidentally got on the wrong boat and ended up here. Luckily I found you so at least I won't be alone."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Yuji asked seeing as the two of them were in their own little world. "Are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend already?" This remark caused Ash and Serena to blush in embarrassment.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend!" The two shouted at the same time their faces turning red.

"Whatever, hurry up, we have to get to Professor's lab remember?" Yuji said.

"Oh right." Ash said as he remembered their objective.

"Hey Ash, do you mind if I tag along?" Serena asked. "It doesn't seem that I'll be able to get home anytime soon and I don't want to be alone out here."

"Sure, the more the merrier!" Ash replied and the now slightly larger group went off towards the lab. It didn't take too long to get there as they soon arrived at the front door of the building.

"Professor, I'm back!" Yuji said as they entered the lab which was a complete mess.

"Man, this is the messiest lab I've seen." Brock commented looking at the several pieces of trash on the floor. "In fact, I can't believe this place can still pass off as one."

"I leave for two weeks and he already gets the place this dirty." Yuji said with a sigh as he began to rummage what seemed to be a Pokémon healing capsule.. "At the very least, he should've used Mr. Mime." He then took a Pokéball out of the capsule and threw it in the air sending out the Pokémon Mr. Mime who panicked at the mess and began to clean immediately.

"Professor Kalep, are you in here?" Ash shouted into the seemingly empty lab. All of a sudden, they heard something from the couches that sounded like a beast's growl. Serena quickly went behind Ash in fright. The growl then turned into sounds of a struggle as the group saw something caught in one of the blankets and was trying to get out. After some time, a middle aged man with brown hair and a lab coat was finally able to get out from under the covers.

"You pulled another all-nighter again didn't you Professor?" Yuji said with a sigh.

"He's Professor Kalep?" Ash said in surprise.

"Unfortunately" Yuji replied.

"Hey, don't talk down on your elders boy!" Professor Kalep exclaimed. "Anyway, I'm Professor Kalep, a Pokémon researcher dedicated to learn more about Pokémon and I give new trainers of this region their first starter Pokémon."

"Professor, they're not new trainers, Ash here just needs the updated Pokédex for this region." Yuji said looking around the now clean laboratory for the said device.

"Can we see them Professor?" Ash asked curious to see what these Pokémon would be like.

"Certainly, since Mr. Serious is over there still looking for the Pokédexes. I'll call for them now." Professor Kalep said with glee. "Come on out you three!" At the Professor's command, three Pokémon came into the main room. One looked similar to a hedgehog but it was light green with leaves on its back, the second one looked like a kitten that was orange with red stripes on its sides along with a tail that looked like flames. The third one looked like a small blue bird with its main body shaped similarly to a filled water balloon. "Okay everyone, meet Leafhog, Fikit, and Piloon." **(Just to say, thinking of the descriptions and the names of these new Pokémon took the most time in the writing process of this chapter.)**

"They're so cute!" Serena exclaimed feeling the urge to pet them.

"I found the Pokédex, why don't you try it out on them?" Yuji said coming back to the group and handing the rectangular, half inch thick Pokédex which wasn't much bigger than an I.D. card to Ash. "There's a little sensor at the front, just aim the sensor at the Pokémon and press the blue button." Ash nodded and first pointed it as Leafhog and pushed the button. A holographic image of the Pokémon appeared and the a voice began to come out of the Pokédex to explain about the Pokémon as usual.

_Leafhog, the hedgehog Pokémon. Leafhog has several soft leaves on its back which can be hardened when under attack. When hardened, the leaves are sharp enough to cut through some of the toughest wood._

Ash then pointed it at Fikit.

_Fikit, the fire kitten Pokémon. Fikit likes to raise its fur that can heat up to 100 degrees to make itself look bigger to scare off enemies. It is very agile and likes to use its speed to its advantage._

Ash lastly pointed it at Piloon.

_Piloon, the water balloon Pokémon. Piloon can store a large amount of water in its squishy body which it uses to bounce around to make up for its inability to fly with its tiny wings._

"They're all fascinating Pokémon." Brock commented.

"And so cute too!" Serena exclaimed who couldn't resist petting them. "I think any trainer would be lucky to have them." As the group continued to talk about the new Pokémon in the room, they failed to notice people surrounding them.

"You know your target, now start the mission." A man said to rows of uniformed people before they replied with a yes sir and charged in. Inside the lab, the power suddenly went out.

"Was that a power outage?" Brock asked with concern as nobody could see clearly.

"No, if that was the case, the emergency solar powered lights would come on." Professor Kalep said. "The power has been cut directly."

"The Pokéballs are being jammed too." Yuji said as he had earlier attempted to send out a Pokémon to help with their light situation.

"Ash, what do we do?" Serena asked beginning to cling to the said boy.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Ash said reassuringly. Almost right after saying that, they heard a crash and the group was taken by surprise and a smoke began blasting in making them fall unconscious. After a bit, they woke up seemingly fine.

"What was that?" Yuji asked as he rubbed his head.

"It doesn't seem they took the Pokémon." Brock said checking up on Leafhog, Fikit, and Piloon who had hidden underneath a blanket.

"Serena's gone!" Ash exclaimed to everyone's shock.

**Sorry to leave you at a cliff hanger but I wanted to give you readers a chapter as soon as possible. I will show Serena's rescue in the next chapter as well as introduce some more new Pokémon that I've made up for this region. By the way, if you have any comments, suggestions or a made up Pokémon you want to put in yourself, just put it on a review or PM me. This is Forest Dragon Slayer signing off for now! And happy holidays if I don't get a chapter written by then.**


End file.
